How Ever-Shrinking Soda Cans Get You To Buy More Stuff

If you've recently attempted a quick run into the grocery, convenience, or big box store for chips or a soda, you may have noticed that the abundance of options are almost paralyzing. It's not just that product choices have multiplied, it's that the number and sizes of those products that have mushroomed — or in some cases, shrunk completely. So, what's it all about?

As bags of chips may have become smaller and soda cans become toy-like, words like shrinkflation, paying the same amount for less product, have been tossed around, along with some lip service to concepts like portion-control for healthy eating. However, the answer is a consumer good strategy that has quietly, but noticeably, changed the way that packaged goods are marketed and sold. Enter price pack architecture. This approach is to offer hyper-focused product sizes that encourage consumers to buy based on who is doing the buying and how they are planning to use a product.

This concept means that a parent may be willing to pay a premium for convenient one-per-child chip cans for an after-school play date, or young co-workers may be willing to do the same for mini cans of soda for a quick after-work happy hour. Consumers are left shelling out the same amount, or more, for the same exact product that is now offered in multiple sizes. Before you know it, you are buying various sizes of the same item for different situations — which can quickly eat into your budget.

One way to combat price pack architecture is to buy a larger size and use the product in different ways. With soft drinks, that may mean coming up with creative ways to use soda in your cooking, like as a meat tenderizer or a glaze, making the most of a larger, more economical size than you might have purchased simply to drink. Or, buying a regular-sized bag of chips, portioning out a few snacks (use a kitchen scale if you really want to watch those serving sizes), and then using the remaining chips for a creative breading or a Spanish tortilla. The bottom line is that by getting a bit creative, you can avoid the lure of specialty sizes that are constantly being thrust at you in the aisles or at checkout. Yet, we've got to admit, those tiny cans sure are tempting.